Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1278834,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1278834/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 235,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dagoretti North, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Beatrice Elachi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this Bill, but I have reservations about some proposals. We must always remember that we need political goodwill to have the ability to respond to existing threats. Looking at our country Kenya, you will find it has been a haven for many people from conflict countries for many years. They find a way into our real estate and oil companies. We question how citizens of other countries facing political crises can invest in Kenya. This is very wrong because most of their citizens are in camps struggling, but a few have decided to be real estate owners in this country. As we support this Bill, I hope we will not just look at those we trust. We should start with those who took dirty money from their country and decided to invest in this country. I thank the Chairperson of the Committee for the good work. If you walk into some wholesale shops and ask to pay your Bill, the owners do not allow you to pay using lipa na M-pesa. You are only allowed to withdraw the money. It means that the person does not want to account for the payment. They want to run away from Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). Since Kenyans want to buy, they comply, which is wrong. There are very many traders doing this in my constituency. What if they are also doing money laundering? As you go for public participation, look around and see how this is done. You will realise we have put our country at risk. Many people have invested in real estate. Looking at the Bill, I want to ask the Chairperson to think about the committee they are establishing, known as the Counter Financing of Terrorism Inter-Ministerial Committee. We cannot conquer this through such a committee. It must have the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration and Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning. This is okay because definitely, they will send representatives. My biggest worry is that a committee member will be present today, but in the next sitting, they may send someone else to sit in for them. This will kill the spirit of this Bill because of a lack of institutional memory, as my colleague has said. They should think of a better way other than this inter-ministerial committee because it will not work well with the reinforcement teams. It will end up in blame games and others being compromised. We will still end up with the challenges we are facing. I plead with this committee to look for other agencies. They have done a very good job of coming up with this Bill, which has made us aware of how to deal with money laundering. However, we might face the same challenges we are trying to sort out. The country is being hurt, and until we get rid of the culture of being compromised, we cannot be helped. The Leader of the Majority Party is back. On the issue of foundations, some of us have run them for many years. I disagree with those who have said that money can be looted and put in foundations. I think the Leader of the Majority Party should visit my children’s home in Ngong and see how it is sustained without Government funding. Fifty-eight children have gone to campus, and many others are in school. The children’s home is also a school. So, naming Members of Parliament who have foundations is very unfair. It will be good to go and see the work they are doing. I know they are many. We have those who have educational foundations. Do you want to tell me that some have put illicit financing in their education foundations? As we look at this Bill, we must look at the critical clauses that can affect some sectors and work on them. I know that this is a Bill that we need as a country. We have other things that people do, especially in the oil and gas sectors, and that is where money laundering takes place. Let us not run away from that. We can name, but we have to be cautious as we do it. I hope that the Chair is listening. The Committee will let this House down. We need to rethink and reorganise the Bill better so that it works. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}